1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a gastric band. More particularly, the invention relates to a balloon based gastric band having mating ends ensuring a complete loop about the stomach wall.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Morbid obesity is a serious medical condition. In fact, morbid obesity has become highly pervasive in the United States, as well as other countries, and the trend appears to be heading in a negative direction. Complications associated with morbid obesity include hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, multiple orthopedic problems and pulmonary insufficiency with markedly decreased life expectancy. With this in mind, and as those skilled in the art will certainly appreciate, the monetary and physical costs associated with morbid obesity are substantial. In fact, it is estimated the costs relating to obesity are in excess of 100 billion dollars in the United States alone.
A variety of surgical procedures have been developed to treat obesity. The most common currently performed procedure is Roux-en-Y gastric bypass RYGB). This procedure is highly complex and is commonly utilized to treat people exhibiting morbid obesity. Other forms of bariatric surgery include Fobi pouch, bilio-pancreatic diversion, and gastroplastic or “stomach stapling”. In addition, implantable devices are known which limit the passage of food through the stomach and affect satiety.
In view of the highly invasive nature of many of these procedures, efforts have been made to develop less traumatic and less invasive procedures. Gastric-banding is a type of gastric reduction surgery attempting to limit food intake by reducing the size of the stomach. In contrast to RYGB and other stomach reduction procedures, gastric banding does not require the alteration of the anatomy of the digestive tract in the duodenum or jejunum.
Since the early 1980s, gastric bands have provided an effective alternative to gastric bypass and other irreversible surgical weight loss treatments for the morbidly obese. Several alternative procedures are performed under the heading of gastric-banding. Some banding techniques employ a gastric ring, others use a band, some use stomach staples and still other procedures use a combination of rings, bands and staples. Among the procedures most commonly performed are lap band, vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG), silastic ring gastroplasty (SRG), and adjustable silastic gastric banding (AGB).
In general, the gastric band is wrapped around an upper portion of the patient's stomach, forming a stoma that is less than the normal interior diameter of the stomach that restricts food passing from an upper portion to a lower digestive portion of the stomach. When the stoma is of an appropriate size, food held in the upper portion of the stomach provides a feeling of fullness that discourages overeating.
Gastric bands with balloon constructions have also been developed. Kuzmak et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,339, teaches a stoma-adjustable gastric band that includes a balloon section that is expandable and deflatable through a remote injection site. The balloon expandable section adjusts the size of the stoma opening both intraoperatively and post-operatively. During the last several years, manufacturers of prior art bands have improved the designs of the balloons of these bands.
Some balloon based gastric bands create a near 360-degree circumference when closed. When filled and expanded, these balloon based gastric bands provide a near 360-degree pressure interface with the stomach tissue. Although these gastric bands create a near 360-degree circumference, their still remains a gap or pinch point where the first and second ends of the balloon are joined together. As such, a need exists for a gastric band which alleviates this spacing or pinch point so as to ensure a full 360-degree interface with the exterior stomach wall and thereby significantly reduce or eliminate the gap or pinch point found in current balloon based gastric bands. The present invention, therefore, provides such a gastric band.